Kirk Yan：Head of NewStars Education and Migration Melbourne branch, registered Australian migration agent, with years of experience and in-depth research in interpreting migration policy and forecasting changes. Editor-in-chief of the Australian Migration Weekly, affectionately known by students as Kirk.
Today we look at what to do if your Engineers Australia skills assessment has passed the three-year validity period recognised by Home Affairs.
To be clear: an EA skills assessment itself does not technically have an expiry date.
However, if the skills assessment is being used for migration, Home Affairs recognises it for three years. If more than three years have passed, Home Affairs may treat it as expired even if EA still considers it valid (Figure 1).
EA will not let you complete a brand-new skills assessment again. Instead, it will issue a new outcome letter, or duplicate letter, and charge part of the fee.
Here is how to obtain the new outcome letter:
Email Engineers Australia and explain that the skills assessment was obtained more than three years ago and that you would like a new outcome letter.
Wait for EA’s reply. As shown in Figure 2, it will tell you the steps to follow. You just need to complete the steps one by one.
Specifically:
1. Log in to your EA account.
2. Select Apply for migration skills/Stage 1 Assessment.
3. Then select Start MSA application. After the page redirects, choose assessment type. At this step, select the same pathway as your previous assessment.
4. Submit all required documents and complete the forms. Upload the original documents and the expired outcome letter. Pay attention to the information in the forms and make sure it is accurate, especially school names and similar details.
5. Pay the full assessment fee. Note that you pay the full amount here and do not need to choose fast track, because this application is already processed quickly. After the outcome letter is issued, the fee other than the renewal component will be refunded. The current renewal fee, including GST, is 126.5 (Figure 3).
6. Return to the email from EA. There is a link; clicking it opens a notification form that can speed up the renewal time.
7. The email says the new skills assessment letter will be issued within four to five weeks, but some clients currently receive a reply in about one week.
You will then receive a new outcome letter, which Home Affairs will still treat as valid for three years. If it expires again, you can apply again using the same steps above.
If your skills assessment’s three-year migration validity has expired and you now have relevant work experience, you can also apply directly for a new employment assessment in the EA system. The new skills assessment letter will then have a new date and show the employment assessment. This gives you a new three-year valid skills assessment with work experience included.
If you have any questions about Australian migration, you can add Kirk on WeChat directly for advice
